Doug’s Columns

By Doug Creamer

A Mother’s Love

            My mother lives about an hour away and I try to get by and see her a couple of times a month. My mother is what I call “Information Central.” When I arrive at her house she tells me all the family news. There is lots of news when you consider her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She knows or wants to know what is going on in everyone’s family. Then when she finds out, she can’t hold it in. She is just so excited to share the news.

            Naturally, when I arrive she wants to know any news from my little corner of the world so she can add it to her collection of family news. I think my mother would have made a great traveling news person from long ago. She can tell stories in such interesting ways. I sometimes worry about who will keep all the news when she is no longer with us.

            My mother always has something she wants to show me. At this time of the year it will probably be related to gardening. It could also be the snake she killed in her house, have you heard that story yet? Sometimes she wants to show me something she found at the store for one of the grandkids. She is so excited and can’t wait to see their faces when she gives it to them.

            My mom is getting a little older, although she will tell you she’s a year older than she actually is. Her reason is that she is “working” on that age. Anyway, I like to help her with whatever chores I can while I am there. Our parents sacrificed and give so much of themselves for us while we were growing up, it feels nice to be able to pay some of that back at this point in my life. She always appreciates anything I do even though it doesn’t feel like much.

            I think most moms make great cheerleaders for any accomplishments in their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Moms are genuinely excited and proud of achievements. It is nice to be noticed for the good things and accomplishments in life.

            When it comes down to it, moms wear so many different hats in life. First, they go through all the trouble to bring us into this world. Their burden doesn’t end there. They have to take care of us when we are sick, fix all our bumps and scrapes, feed and try to keep our growing bodies in clothes, help us with our homework, take us to our many activities, listen to our problems, and forgive us when we say mean things. They take care of our physical needs, help us through emotional moments, and try to point us to God for our spiritual needs.

            The truth is no mom is perfect. Mrs. Cleaver or Mrs. Brady from TV just don’t exist in the real world. Moms are real people who struggle to maintain in an imperfect world. They do their best, and understandably, have to leave the rest. Our job, according to scripture, is to love, honor, and appreciate them.

            I have heard through the years of people who have been blessed to find a second mom. They discovered someone who shows them the love, care, and boundaries that they missed at home. It’s wonderful when we can find someone who provides that deep sense of comfort. The scriptures promise us that God himself will step in and be our mother and our father if we find ourselves in that place of need.

            God loves us far greater than any parent ever could. His love is perfect. It provides the support and corrective guidance to help us live godly lives. His love encourages and challenges us to fulfill our God-ordained purpose in life. His love draws us into a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. His love fills the empty hole left by an absent parent. His love can and will meet us at any point of need in our lives. We just have to open our hearts to Him.

            I want to encourage you to open your heart to God. It doesn’t matter if you had great parents, absent parents, or something in between; God wants to heal any brokenness in your heart. God loves you unconditionally, but His love will not leave you in a broken state. His love will grow you and mold you into the image of His Son. His love wants to mold you into a vessel that can carry His perfect love so you can share it with others.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Plant Day

            There is a day in late spring that I consider a very happy day. It’s the day when all my wife’s plants move out of the garage and find their summer home outside. I imagine the plants are happy, too. Some of them are leggy and in need of some TLC. My wife and I work on them together. We trim off old, dead leaves. We add soil and fertilizer when needed. Some plants get cut way back, while others get repotted.

            The plants will fill both the front and back porch areas. They get moved around all summer as they will grow bigger and fuller. I love to sit on the porch and read with her plants all around. There is such a wonderful peace being surrounded by her plants. It is a happy day when the plants come out of the garage.

            I have also been working out in the vegetable garden. I have everything in the garden except the tomatoes. I know, what’s wrong with me? Between the late cold snaps and just being busy with other things, we haven’t made our many spring trips to the garden centers. We’ll be out there soon; I hear those tomatoes calling.

            I want to put up some more fences to discourage the deer from paying us a visit. I haven’t seen them in the yard yet this year, but I am sure they are in the woods. I am also going to have to do some work on the squirrels and rabbits. They need a little discouraging, too. They are both a bit brazen. They will sit a few feet away and eat.

            I looked out the window early one morning and saw a baby rabbit scampering around our back patio. I hope he knows that the lettuce growing in a pot is NOT for him. While I really don’t want to see a hawk take away a rabbit, I wouldn’t mind seeing a few less squirrels in the area. We seem to have an abundance of them right now.

            I have been thinking about all these critters that want to eat what I grow. I love to see wildlife outside my window; I just don’t want to see it enjoying my fruits and vegetables. There is a parallel to our spiritual lives. God provides lots of spiritual food for us, but sometimes we allow the enemy to come and steal it.

            I can’t be the only one who has sat in church and allowed my mind to wander onto something else. Why is it so easy to be distracted at church? The enemy wants to keep you from growing strong and producing fruit. There are plenty of things to distract us and keep us from the meal that the pastor has worked so hard to prepare for us.

            You know why your Bible is covered in dust all week? The enemy has ways of keeping us busy so we don’t have time for reading and building our strength. If we read the Bible, believe it, and find ways to apply it to our lives, then the enemy to our soul will be in big trouble. He will do anything to keep us from cracking open the Good Book.

            When we pray we are changing the world around us. The enemy doesn’t want us to pray. If we pray we will tap into unimaginable power. Have you ever fallen asleep while praying? Have you ever started praying and then realized you were stewing about something else? Has your phone ever rung while you were praying? The enemy wants to keep you from bowing your head in prayer.

            There are so many things that can easily distract us and keep us from growing stronger and closer to God. There are texts, emails, 24-hour news channels, and scrolling through your favorite social media. There is also anger, bitterness, resentment, and being offended. The point of all these distractions is to keep you away from God’s presence, His deep love for you, and the power He has for you to live a different life.

            I want to encourage you to remove the distractions that are keeping you from being in God’s presence. He loves you and wants you to grow stronger by consuming His word and allowing it to grow within you. He wants to answer your prayers, but you have to pray them first. He wants to speak to you through your pastor, so you have to discipline your mind to listen. God wants the seed of His word to produce fruit in the garden of your life. Work with Him so you can bring in a bountiful harvest.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

            I thought spring had arrived and was planning to stay, but last weekend Mother Nature reminded us that she can be fickle. My wife keeps many of her houseplants in the garage for the winter. When I think the weather has sufficiently warmed up, I begin taking them back outside. I had about half her plants outside when last week’s cold snap arrived.

            Thus began the process of bringing the plants back into the garage. The problem was that her potted perennial plants had come up and had produced lots of beautiful spring leaves. These plants, especially her beautiful hostas, needed some protection from the cold, too. The choice between her car and the beautiful plants being in the garage became no competition. The car was out!

            For a couple of days, the garage was more beautiful than a florist. My wife truly has some stunning, beautiful plants. Her plants and flowers make being on our porches a sanctuary. Their beauty and the peacefulness attract the Lord’s presence. I can sit for hours on either our front or back porch. My soul is refreshed by the beauty that she and God create.

            Many of the plants are now back outside, but there are still more plants in the garage that need to find their places outside. A few of them are extra-large ones and only get moved out and in once a year. So, we have to be sure all Mother Nature’s fun and games are done. Hurricanes can cause the plants to come back in the garage again, but that is a different story.

            I like to walk in my neighborhood and take in God’s handiwork in my neighbor’s yards. God really does a beautiful job at waking up the earth after a long and drab winter. Everything is in bloom and all that pollen drives my sinuses crazy, but I just love stopping and admiring all the beauty around me.

            I like to go for walks. My wife and I prefer to walk on the beach, but the neighborhood will have to do for now. Sometimes I will go for walks alone. I like to think about things when I am alone. I also like to talk to the Lord because I know that I am truly never alone. We have nice talks as I thank Him for the beauty He created. I pray for my friends. Some of my friends get lots of prayers, others get a few. I always figure He knows who needs my prayers.

            Sometimes, I pray what I might call worry prayers. Do you know what I mean? I have some friends who are professional worriers. They might call me an amateur. I don’t want to become a professional worrier. I would rather be a warrior in prayer.

            Two times recently I started down the path of worry, one was late at night and the other was on one of my walks. It was the same subject approached from two different angles. I am so glad that Jesus is patient and that He understands our human weakness. In both cases the critical element in the conversation was that I began to listen.

            Jesus began to show me, in both situations, specifically how and why I needed to trust Him. He knew all about the problem and He didn’t need my detailed analysis. He had a brilliant solution to the problem. What He needed and wanted from me was my faith. I needed to apply my faith to His solution and trust that He was already working on it.

            I believe the problem is that we want to point out all the problems that He is obviously overlooking. What Jesus wants from us is to stay close to Him, look into His eyes, spend time in His word, and look to see where He is working on our lives today. If we will go to where He is working and work with Him today, all those other things will work themselves out. My new prayer is: God help me find where you are working today and help me to work there, too.

            I want to encourage you to pray that prayer with me. Don’t let other things distract you or keep you away from His presence. He is working on you to make you more like Jesus. The key is to listen and to trust Him completely. We don’t always understand what He is doing. We just need to trust that He is working on our behalf. It’s not easy, but He will help us. And remember that He is good, loving, kind, and patient with us.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Passing the Torch

            After a long pause caused by COVID, our church has decided to begin offering children’s church again. Our children enjoy the music with their parents, and then we take them to their own space for a lesson that is on their level. We divide the children into two groups. There is the two- to four-year-old class…God bless them and their teachers. I do not have the skills or abilities to teach or reach that age group.

            I work with the older kids. Currently, they are from five to ten years old. We start these children off with a Bible lesson, and then we will do an activity to reinforce what they learned. After that, we take the kids into a room where they can play on some inflatables. Where were they when I was a kid? Naturally, the kids have fun while they are learning.

            The interesting thing is that the kids are learning. Our first lesson began with a short video that I thought was a little corny. The kids laughed hysterically at the corny jokes. The lesson itself was short, but packed with details. After the video, there was a quiz to test what they learned, and the kids got most of the questions right. I was very impressed with what they picked up on in the lesson.

            The kids left with knowledge about the Bible story, a few laughs at the corny jokes, the activity we did, and a few minutes of fun in the inflatables. They were excited and told their parents that they liked it and want to come back. Isn’t that what Jesus would want, leaving them hungry for more? That is exactly what will happen as the students and teachers engage with the curriculum.

            I was thinking about attending Sunday school back when I was a kid. I can still remember some of the lessons I learned. One in particular that stands out is making the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them. We cut Styrofoam into the shape of the tablets. We covered them with some type of paper that looked like stone. Then we pasted the Ten Commandments on them. I remember that lesson vividly, and that was more than fifty years ago.

            The point I want to make is this. I assure you that the two women in the room helping us to create our stone tablets did not have seminary degrees. I imagine they were just moms from our congregation. They taught the children in that classroom lots of lessons, and at least one of those kids grew up to believe in Jesus as savior.

            I assure you that my co-worker and I made mistakes while we taught our lesson the other day. The women who taught me as a child made errors. But the point is that we each got in there and did our best to pass on our faith to the next generation. What will the kids remember? They will remember that we loved them, laughed with them, and taught them something from the Bible. We passed our faith on to them.

            That’s what we are called to do: pass on the torch of our faith. Whether it is the next generation of children, or our neighbors, co-workers, or friends, Jesus calls each one of us to pass along our faith. We are called to let others know the reason for our hope and joy. We can’t live with our faith hidden; it must shine brightly in the darkness.

            Jesus came into the world to reveal God’s great love for mankind. We were already painfully aware that our sin had separated us from God’s love. Jesus showed us the way back to the Father through the sacrifice of His life. We are forgiven and welcomed home like prodigal sons and daughters. How can we keep silent with such a wonderful message? If you stumble and make a mistake while sharing this message of hope, don’t worry, because God’s love is greater, and the lost and little children need to hear it.

            I want to encourage you to share the light of hope that burns brightly inside you. I imagine your church could use some help one Sunday a month with the children. It’s a great place to start. Don’t forget the waitress, cashier, your neighbors, and your lost friends. Share a smile, give them an encouraging word, and let them know that they are loved by the God who made them. It’s our job to pass the torch that we have been given. Let’s dispel the darkness with God’s glorious light. Share God’s love with others.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

Spread the News

            I saw on a weather website the other day that we are expecting an inch. Can you believe that we might actually see an inch…of pollen? Did you think I meant snow? I looked out at my driveway the other day after a shower blew through and it was yellow with pollen. Sometimes if you look outside, you can see the pollen particles in the air, there is so much out there. I was wondering if the mask wearing for COVID was helping people who suffer from allergies.

            All the pollen comes with the beauty of spring. I was so afraid the cold nights we had a few weeks ago might spoil spring. The dogwoods, azaleas, flowers, and other blooming trees seem to be coming on strong. I love driving down the road and seeing all of nature coming back to life. It makes me wonder what heaven’s beauty might look like one day. 

            We made our first spring trip to a garden center last week. It is our favorite place to go every spring. We go often and stay for a while. For us, it’s better and often cheaper than going to the movies. Naturally, we want to see our old favorites, but we also want to see what is new in the world of plants.

            I spent some time picking out my vegetable garden seeds. I stuck with my tried and true varieties. I didn’t pick out any tomatoes or other transplants yet. I want to give it another week before I put them out. We have gotten some surprise frosts on more than one occasion.

            After a warm and dry week last week I decided that maybe I could till the garden. I have four raised beds and hoped to get one of them worked up. My tiller glided through the soil easily. I thought that maybe I could do two beds. The second bed went smoothly, too. I needed to be cutting the grass, but maybe I could try a third bed. When I finished that bed, well, there was only one more to go. I didn’t finish cutting the grass, but my garden beds are ready for planting.

            There is nothing quite like planting seeds in freshly tilled soil. I love the feeling of the soil and the excitement of getting seeds in the ground. I will go out every day to see if they have sprouted. Nothing can bring greater joy to a gardener than to see the soil starting to erupt and those new seedlings emerging.

            The truth is we should feel the same kind of joy when we have the opportunity to share the seeds of hope with those who are lost. When those opportunities arise where we can speak those words of life to another, we want to be ready. There should be a peace and a joy in our lives that others find attractive, something that they desire for themselves.

            Some people spray their religious thoughts like the annoying pollen of spring. It fills the air and turns people off to God. We need to be like flowers that attract bees to collect the pollen. People should be attracted to our lives, and then the pollen of our faith just sticks to them. It becomes food for their souls and they keep coming back for more.

            Jesus dealt with each person tenderly and compassionately. He never pushed His faith on anyone. People were attracted to His servant heart. They were drawn by the love that they found in His eyes. He didn’t espouse judgement on people, but He did encourage them to go and live changed lives. He welcomed all people, especially those who were living sinful lives and trapped with hopelessness. Jesus planted in them the seeds of life and hope.

            I am dependent on the Lord’s mercy and grace every day. I want to be the kind of vessel that extends His love, grace, and mercy to those I encounter who are hungry and thirsty for more of God. I want my life to be attractive to others. I want to have the same servant heart that Jesus has for the lost and hurting around me.

            I want to encourage you to bloom where God has you planted. He put you there so He could attract people to Himself through you. You are unique and God can express part of His unique character through you. People are hungry and thirsty, let them come to your well and drink and let them pick the fruit in your life and eat. God wants to use you. Yes, YOU.  

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

By Doug Creamer

            Our family was hoping for some good weather for Easter. With a few cold nights before Easter, we weren’t sure the weather was going to cooperate. We wanted to get our family together, outside and socially distanced. God gave us a glorious day and the opportunity to see each other, which made for a wonderful Easter.

            All the traditional Easter food was present. There was ham, salads, desserts, and candy, too. While we remained spread out, you could hear the laughter and the conversations. It was so nice to relax and spend some time together. It was so nice to catch up with family, including nieces and nephews. I love hearing about what is going on in each of their lives and talking about their hopes and dreams. The BIG news was that one of my nieces is expecting her first child.

            My family has been without small children for a number of years, so there have been no Easter egg hunts. This year there were little children present. It was so much fun watching the children and their parents during the Easter egg hunt. There must have been 10 cameras vying to catch the magical moments.

            After the children finished hunting and eating their treasures, it was announced that there would be an adult Easter egg hunt. I think it might have been more fun watching parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents hunt for eggs. The competition was fierce. Inside the plastic eggs was candy and fake money. But the fake money could be turned in for prizes. I only found a few eggs, but I had enough money to buy some movie-theater-sized boxes of candy. I was thrilled with my prizes, as the competition for prizes was intense as well.

            I was thinking that it wasn’t that many years ago that my nieces and nephews were the ones hunting for eggs. Now they are grownups. Some are in college, while others have gotten married and started families of their own. Some of them live far away. All of them are living interesting lives. All of them, all of us, are still connected as one big family. My family has remained close even though miles separate us.

            Gathering together as a family is important. It helps to strengthen family bonds. I think all of us are hoping that things will get better soon so we can bring families back together on a regular basis, especially for holiday gatherings. We need each other. When you can’t get together, it reminds you how much you really want to be together.

            I am very thankful for my biological family, but I am also thankful for my spiritual family. We are a part of a great church family. I love my church family, and it is nice to be gathering together even though we are at a reduced capacity. We need each other. We need to be together so we can encourage and pray for each other.

            I think Easter reminds us that we are in the family of God. Some family members have wandered far away from their Heavenly Father, while others have chosen to stay close. God wants every member of the human race to come to His family gathering, but sadly, many have chosen to reject God and live their lives for themselves.

            On Good Friday, Jesus made a way for every person to come back into the family. His shed blood offers the forgiveness from God and the open door for each person to come home. Some may feel unworthy or fear they will not be accepted. That is the wonderful miracle that God offers if we are willing to accept what Jesus has done for us. He makes a way home even though it seems impossible.

            On Easter morning, we discover the impossible: Jesus rose from the dead. No other religion offers the hope of eternal life through a savior that died and rose again from the grave. He paid for everything wrong we have all done. All we have to do is accept this glorious gift from God. He opens the prison doors and invites us to join the family of God.

            I want to encourage you to join the family of God. Jesus is preparing a place for you. If you will accept His free gift you will be welcomed to a huge family cookout. There will be so much laughter and long conversations. There will be unbridled joy because we will be all together, no masks, no social distancing, and no weary or sick bodies. I can’t wait to be a part of that celebration. Hey, you are invited, too. Come on…

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com